Finally some of the draft experts are seeing what Texas fans (and anyone who watched Texas games) already knew: defensive tackle Lamarr Houston is one of the defensive lineman in the country. After his incredible season, his performance in the Senior Bowl and in last week’s NFL scouting combine has him on everyone’s list of NFL Draft fast risers. Check out what NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks said:
LaMarr Houston, DT, Texas: Houston continued to build on the momentum generated from his solid showing at the Senior Bowl. The mammoth defender impressed scouts with his exceptional display of speed, power and athleticism while going through drills. Although Houston’s performance may not be enough to catapult him into the first round, it has made the former Longhorn one of the coveted sleepers in this draft.
Be sure to also check out these video highlights and interview with Houston from the combine.
So far I have been pretty underwhelmed with the overall performance of the 6 Texas Longhorns taking part in the NFL combine. Colt McCoy performed pretty well in the 2 drills he took part in, coasting easily to a 4.79s 40 yard dash. Earl Thomas wasn’t among the fastest safties, but got some love from one NFL Network announcer who said he was the most instinctive safety he has seen in the last 8 or 9 years.
Below are the results so far. I will update when more information comes in.
Colt McCoy
40 yard dash: 4.79s (5th)
Broad jump: 9’6″ (4th)
Earl Thomas
Bench press: 21 reps (6th)
Sergio Kindle
40 yard dash: 4.71s (7th)
Bench press: 25 reps
Vertical jump: 36.5″ (7th)
Broad jump: 9’10”
Jordan Shipley
40 yard dash: 4.57s
Bench press: 16 reps (8th)
Lamarr Houston
40 yard dash: 4.85s
Bench press: 30 reps
Vertical jump: 33.5″
Broad jump: 9’6″
Roddrick Muckelroy
40 yard dash: 4.73s
Bench press: 19 reps
Broad jump: 9’2″
Adam Ulatoski
40 yard dash: 5.53s
Bench press: 24 reps
Broad jump: 7’10”
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during tonight’s national title game on ABC. We’ll be live right around kickoff for Texas vs [tag]Alabama[/tag] so join us to discuss the game at 7:00pm Thursday night.
Things might be a little less wordy than normal, but please feel free to leave comments and questions using the live tool, but not all comments will be published. Read below for more notes on comments and how the live blog will work. Hook ’em!
A resolution in this article will be “a formal expression or opinion made” to win a football game. The Texas Longhorns will be playing for a national championship against Alabama on January 7th at the Rose Bowl. I have four resolutions that the Longhorns should follow in order to win this game. We are not going to make the obvious statements that the winner will be the one that can hold on to the ball, establish the running game, control the line of scrimmage, TOP, or have the ball last. Here they are:
1. To Be First
The Longhorn’s offense all season is based on tempo. The Longhorns need to rack up first downs in this game. If you remember the Fiesta Bowl last year the offense needed a full half to get going. You will notice that [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] and [tag]Greg Davis[/tag] like to run the hurry up offense after a made first down. The Bama defense will need to pick it up and mismatches play a huge role in Texas moving the ball. The Longhorns for this entire season had 114 more first downs over their opponents.
2. To Add Wrinkles
No… we are not hoping the Longhorns age us during this game. Greg Davis needs to add some different play combinations to keep the Alabama defense guessing. We know that conventional running will not work. Greg introduced the double cross receiver run during the OU game and the shovel pass against UCF. Auburn pulled out a few rabbits to start the game against Bama. I am not suggesting trick plays but a change of pace to keep them guessing. Please Greg install the wheel route to [tag]Tre Newton[/tag] at the right time which would be fun to see. [tag]Chris Hall[/tag] and teammates please give Colt just a little time to execute a few of these plays.
3. To Have a Big Middle
The middle that I am referring to is [tag]Roddrick Muckelroy[/tag] and [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag]. These two men need to step up big time to make Alabama one dimensional. The two closes games (biggest I would argue) of the season where we saw the Sooners rush for -16 yards and the Huskers run for 67 yards. Alabama will want to impose their will with Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson running the ball. The “Goonies” (nicknamed by Lamarr) need to have the defensive effort that we all talk about when we speak of the 2006 National Championship game.
4. To Not Be Offensive
We need to get back to the non-offensive touchdown results that we had for most of the season. The timeliness of the 2 non-offensive TD’s that we had versus Oklahoma State would suffice (I can wish?!). We need the special teams to come up with a game changing punt return, punt block or kick return to electrify the crowd. The defense stepping up with an interception or fumble return for a touchdown can make the other team question their offensive decisions which affect play calling and team confidence. We do not have to win the turnover battle – just do something with it!
It wasn’t the game most Texas fans expected, but the wild, close game against Texas A&M might end up being a blessing for the Horns and [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag]. The coaches have plenty of tape to motivate the offense and the defense all week and McCoy put on a Heisman highlight reel for the entire country. Check out highlights from the game below:
Fire the cannon. Make some noise with Big Bertha. They should have let [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] light the tower orange as well. Watch the postgame celebration and relish the special group of seniors that played their last game at DKR Saturday night:
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during tonight’s Texas game versus [tag]Kansas[/tag] on ABC. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game bright and early at 7:00pm Saturday.
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WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas’ game against the Baylor Bears.
Pregame WTH Floyd Casey?! Our game should be called the Battle of the Brazos (nod to the Red River Rivalry) since the fans were split right down the middle at the 50 yard line with UT fans taking up half the stadium. Should Baylor football still get their cut of the Big XII money pot with their contribution to stadium attendances?
1st Half WTH Fox Sports?! Please talk to the Texas coaches before you broadcast another game. The television truck kept asking for replays or studio updates that caused us to miss many of the Longhorns up tempo offensive plays. Heck, they even missed on (1st Qt. 9:30) Tre’ Newton’s 45 yard touchdown run for a game update. I guess replays are more important than live plays.
1st Quarter (7:38) WTH McCoy?! [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] please leave the Baylor fans alone. You made a good decision to throw away the football on broken play. But your pass ear holed a young Baylor band girl. I am surprised Colt you even hit a fan with the attendance that was announced (44,372).
1st Quarter (7:34 & 6:46) WTH Novak?! Referee Scott Novak and his crew screwed up on back to back unsportsmanlike penalties for taunting on the Baylor defense. Both calls were horrible since Baylor was trying to stay motivated against the second ranked team in the country down by 21 points. Thanks Scott for legislating out enthusiasm at a college football game.
2nd Quarter (1:28) WTH Chykie?! A great forced fumble by [tag]Sam Acho[/tag] which caused the ball to roll around in the end zone. [tag]Chykie Brown[/tag] had the ball in his hands but could not come up with the touchdown recovery. Oh well, Chykie had a great game by leading the team in tackles with 8 and had a bone jarring sack. WTH Shout Out to [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] who had 2 sacks and was constantly in the Baylor backfield.
3rd Quarter WTH Beebe?! Big XII Commissioner Dan Beebe was brought in for filler time in the booth during the 2nd half of the game. Dan thought the current BCS system needed a little tweaking with adding the strength of schedule, but shot down the idea of a playoff or a plus 1 system to determine the championship. Maybe we need to add the conference commissioners with the university presidents who do not get it when nearly everyone wants some sort of playoff.
Next Day WTH Monroe?! I know that we have all done some stupid stuff. I hope that D.J. Monroe’s lack of poor judgment (DWI arrest) does not end a great start to a college career. I’m all for second chances to those who deserve it.
WTH Shout Out?! Thanks to the fans at Bucky’s Big Red Tailgate Company who hosted this Longhorn at the Wisconsin Badger game against Michigan. You guys truly know how to throw a tailgate party and take care of a Texas fan in Madison.
Next up for the Longhorn’s is the final home game of the season against the Jayhawks at 7pm Nov. 21st.
Follow along live with 40 Acres Sports on Twitter and below for our thoughts and analysis during today’s Texas game versus [tag]Baylor[/tag] on FSN. We’ll be live right around kickoff so join us to discuss the game bright and early at 11:00am Saturday.
Feel free to leave comments and questions using the live tool, but not all comments will be published. Read below for more notes on comments and how the live blog will work. Hook ’em!
WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas’ game against the Oklahoma State.
Pregame WTH Poke Fans?! Wow, the biggest crowd in [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] football history. You packed it in on Halloween night. You recorded 58,516 fans?! You did renovate the stadium with Boone Pickens money, didn’t you?
1st Qt. (5:56) WTH Burks?! Referee Greg Burks and his staff got a few calls wrong at the beginning of the game. The calls did benefit the Longhorns, but the personal foul call on OSU Lucien Antoine for hitting UT [tag]Dan Buckner[/tag] going across the middle was a good hard play. I wish the NCAA would get rid of the helmet to helmet hit when it does not involve the quarterback. The officials also missed it (1:19 – 2nd Qt.) when UT [tag]James Kirkendoll[/tag] was stripped of the ball when they assumed his momentum was stopped but never blew the whistle. Glad that the Horns blasted the Pokes on Halloween like a blue armadillo to make sure that these calls were not an issue.
1st Quarter (3:37) WTH PVC Man?! Oklahoma State degrades one of their own by having him hold a large PVC pipe flash card stand. A player, #23, for the Pokes holds an elaborate flip card that shows a heart, a number and an image on it for the OSU offensive package. The Poke player is auditioning for holding the leader board for the next round at the Masters.
1st Quarter (1:44) WTH Hubert?! Come on Hubert Anyiam from Oklahoma State. You had a gift touchdown pass that was perfectly placed to you by Zac Robinson on 4th down. (14:25 – 2nd Qt.) Then you got the ball ripped out by UT [tag]Sam Acho[/tag] which led to the first touchdown for the Horns. Oh yeah, great job ABC for cutting away and missing most of the play.
2nd Qt. & 3rd Qt. WTH Goonies?! The Longhorn defense played an incredible game especially the secondary which returned two interceptions for the touchdowns ([tag]Curtis Brown[/tag] – 2nd Qt. & [tag]Earl Thomas[/tag] – 3rd Qt.). But you need to slow down with all the nicknames. [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] comes up with the defensive nickname the Goonies because they like to goon it up with the opposing offense (Like that one). This week [tag]Sergio Kindle[/tag] comes up with the name “Texas Swagger” to get the team motivated to close the deal against the Cowboys. Coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] got into the act early in the year with giving out T-shirts with the logo .0128 which is the margin that they lost to OU for the Big XII championship. I guess I do not care what ploy is implemented as long as the Horns win.
3rd Quarter (10:27) WTH Case?! [tag]Case McCoy[/tag] is standing next to the lovely Rachel Glandorf (Colt’s girlfriend) and proceeds to spit on the floor right next to her. I guess the upcoming UT commit at quarterback is affecting his better judgment.
Next up for the Longhorn’s is a trip home to face Central Florida at DKR Memorial at 11am November 7th.
Just a few minutes before opening kickoff of Texas vs Kansas.